Formula 1 – 2011, what a great season so far!
As the drivers and teams take a much needed break from this really long Formula 1 season, lets take a look at this excellent season so far.
This season started off with my personal favourite driver, Sebastian Vettel taking all the glory race after race. It reminded me of Schumi in his heyday winning endlessly. It was great to see Vettel win the way he did, but it wasn’t exciting racing and it wasn’t good for Formula 1.
When the season started, it was clear that Red Bull had a much better car than all the others and competition was only between the two guys at Red Bull. Webber did seem to look like the underdog but he proved a point by winning at the hallowed Nurburgring GP.
The Canadian Grand Prix 2011 shook things up a bit and after a record breakingly long race, Jenson Button won. The rain played an huge part in making things interesting. Even though McLaren is far from being a team I like, the race was amazing and it showed people that Vettel was human and could make mistakes. Importantly, it also showed that McLaren’s hard work on the car was now paying off. Today’s race at the Hungaroring in Budapest clearly showed that the McLarens were easily at least 3-4 kmph quicker than the Renaults at Red Bull Racing on the straights. Add that to speed you gain in the slip stream and DRS on top of that, Red Bull wont be happy at all (Actually, Vettel said he wasn’t happy, so, not so much speculation there). This improved car along with a confident Jenson Button and a Lewis Hamilton who seems to have found his cool again has put McLaren in a great position for the rest of the season.
Ferrari did not have a great first half of the season. A lot of work had to be done on the car and watching Ferrari not win and be inconspicuous was excruciating to behold. It was the most painful part of this season for me. Ferrari have now got themselves a very competitive car. It yet remains to be seen if they are quicker than the McLarens and Red Bulls but for sure, the Ferraris are back in the game. Fernando Alonso looks so unhappy on the podium every time he stands up there on second and third that it makes me think that he knows that he didn’t get to push the car to do what it could do. If my mind reading is any good, that could be a sign of great things to come for my beloved Ferraris. Felipe Massa is looking quick but has been unlucky, getting stuck behind slow cars very frequently, but will hopefully change things around soon.
Watching Schumi get overtaken is something beyond grief. He lead todays race at the Hungarian Grand Prix for a lap until he was unceremoniously overtaken by Lewis Hamilton and then he spun out and retired with a troubled gear box. I don’t know what is in store for Schumi next season but I know he knows what he is doing. Nico Rosberg has been consistently good – both out qualifying and out racing the legend. Mercedes is a new team and has a lot to benefit from having Michael on the team. Mercedes will most probably end the season in 4th place and hopefully will be more competitive next season.
Force India has been one of the “best of the rest” teams this season. With no pedigree like the Lotus’, this team has been consistent in qualifying close to the top 10 and finishing in the points recently. They are number 7 in manufacturers now but that will change before the end of the season. They will become a very strong mid level contender. Adrian Sutil has been great for Force India for a while now, consistently earning points for them but I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves Force India next season. Paul di Resta, their new driver this season has shown what he can do with a less than great car. I’m sure this guy will be Force India’s future.
It has been a cracker of a season the past few races, I very eagerly look forward to the remaining races of the season and the new race track in India. I hope the rains come down more frequently and gift us with exciting races like the ones in Canada, Britain and Hungary. Please don’t let us have to sleep through a race like the one at Valencia again!